Did not finish. I enjoyed the characters and the premise to begin, but then it just felt like it dragged on and on and on.

Sophie attends the Edinburgh festival with her fellow colleague and theater critic Alex Lyons. Alex writes a scathing one star review of a one woman show, before he meets the performer Hayley in a bar and sleeps with her.

Hayley, unaware of who Alex is, wakes the next morning to find her career potentially ruined. She decides to take revenge, and re-formulates her show into 'The Alex Lyons experience'.

The story is told through the eyes of Sophie, who watches as Hayley's show goes from strength to strength, as lots of women come forward to share how he treated the badly, and other performers tell of how his reviews damaged their careers. She watches as Alex becomes a pariah, eventually removed from his job. Throughout it all, she can see both sides, acknowledging that Alex is not a nice guy, but his behavior towards women seems uncaring rather than deliberately malicious. He is a scathing critic, but that's what his readers want. She's not sure Alex deserves the level of punishment he receives. She's also not immune to his charms - something I really didn't understand given the position she was in.

The novel is a commentary on today's need for extremes of view - one star or 5 star with no middle ground, and the cancel culture that goes along with it. The relative power that reviewers hold. It had the feel of the Me Too movement.

Sophie examines how a critic should act - do you owe a greater responsibility to the actors and performers, to the audience who watch them, or to the readers of the paper that publishes them. How honest should you be, knowing that a show's funding may hang in the balance of a review? What if you don't understand the performance?

I found the side plot of Sophie's relationship to her husband and child, and her grief over her mother's recent death, all a little distracting from the main plot.

All in all I enjoyed the views into the life of performers and the background of putting on a show, as well as some insight into the lives of critics and reviewers. The whole moral dilemma over behavior of people like Alex was well argued.

Bring The House Down is a sharp witted novel about a critic who reviews a one woman show at The Edinburgh Fringe Fest and the artist's reaction to that review.
The story begins with the critic Alex Lyon's attending Hayley's show. He hates it and plans to give it a terrible one star review. After the show he sleeps with Hayley, never telling her who he is. The next morning she realizes that he has panned her show. She then takes it upon herself to get revenge and destroy Alex's reputation.
In the middle of this, telling the story is Sophie- Alex's co-worker. She grapples with how to handle the situation, knowing Alex as a a friend but empathizing with Hayley as a woman.
The book explores questions about misogyny, cancel culture and how to move forward after a public failure. It does a good job of showing both sides of an issue and how one person's perception is not the whole truth. It also looks at how a story can capture all of social media for a moment in time and how what is put out to the world has consequences for many people, not just those directly related to it.
The writing is sharp and funny and the characters are well drawn and relatable. This was a fast paced book with many nuances. I enjoyed reading it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for sending me an ARC of Bring the House Down in exchange for an honest review.

The Goodreads description of this book tells you everything you need to know about the story, so I’ll jump directly to my thoughts.

Bring the House Down was directly inspired by something that happened to Ms. Runcie. While an intern at a magazine, she wrote a negative review of a young (now famous) comedienne who proceeded to read the review to future audiences, roasting both the review and Ms. Runcie personally. There’s a great deal of material in the story that weighs in on the dynamic between artist and critic. Why do people choose to become critics rather than artists or performers themselves? Do critics owe a duty to the artists, who sacrifice to create something and put it out in the world? Or is the critics’ only duty to their audience? And why does anyone care about other people’s opinions, especially of strangers on places like (gasp!) Goodreads?

However, unlike the real world incident, Bring the House Down presents a scenario that allows for an exploration of misogyny large and small, its role in the arts, and how women do and should respond. Alex is a fascinating character, but not a great guy, though he’s painted with enough nuance that the extent of his villainy towards Hayley can be up for some debate. But is Hayley’s response, essentially nuking his life, proportional to his offense towards her—and does that even matter? What exactly do we want to happen to these men, and what will actually change things? The book is structured like Fleischman Is in Trouble, in which the story of a troubled man is being told by a woman in his life who’s also working in the story of her own troubles. Why does Sophie feel a pull to take Alex’s side? And how different is Alex’s misogyny from the subtler but still very real misogyny of her partner, Josh?

Bring the House Down is an entertaining and thought provoking read. It may not have all the answers, but it asks some great questions. Highly recommended. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

This book hooked me because it brought so much nuance to cancellations and public shaming. The main character is a journalist whose coworker gives a show a one star review and sleeps with the show’s star the same night without her knowing about the coming review. The fall out made me think about how we reckon with those who are outed for bad behavior. Is there room for nuance? What is the desired outcome? This novel examined it all through the narrator and the orbiting characters. 3.5 stars.

What a great debut novel. When a theater reviewer pans a one-woman show, but knowingly sleeps with that woman after writing the review and before it's published - keeping her in the dark the whole time - things take a turn when that woman abruptly makes her show about the reviewer and how terrible he is.

The first third or so zipped along and I couldn't put it down. The narrator is a bit of a fly on the wall for all the awkward drama between the reviewer and the actress. But then things took on a different tone and slowed down. I still enjoyed it, and really liked the exploration of what it means to review art and the relationship between reviewer and artist, but I think losing the actress in most of the second half of the book was a mistake. Still, I'm definitely going to recommend this one to all my theater and writer friends.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC!

Theatre critic Alex Lyons is in town for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and on the opening night he publishes a scathing review of Hayley’s feminist play. Later that night, they cross paths at a bar and end up sleeping together. The next morning, Hayley comes across his review and decides to switch up her play to be a monologue that completely exposes him and his behavior, becoming the hottest performance of the festival. This whole story is seen through the eyes of Sophie, fellow performance reviewer who is forced to board with Alex by the paper they work for.

This was an interesting exploration of cancel culture and consequences of behavior in the public eye. I think the idea was that the narrator, Sophie, was giving us an inside and somewhat unbiased view from outside the animosity between Alex and Hayley. We do get back story with Sophie that I was interested in but it’s sporadic and muddled the story because so much focus was on the drama. I see what the author was trying to do here, but I also was constantly rolling my eyes at Alex and how much time was spent almost justifying his behavior. Maybe it’s just the mood I feel because of society right now but I don’t feel like reading a book that is playing devil’s advocate for a borderline predator. Then again, I do understand that it’s about the gray area of whether Alex was a truly bad person or just a dummy airhead. Either way, the behavior wasn’t acceptable.

Overall a decent read that had me turning the pages to see what would happen! Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday for a digital advance copy of this book! All opinions are my own.

“Bring Down the House” by Charlotte Runcie
Something Different
Just as a coin has three sides (heads, tails, & the rim); this story has multiple sides, too. It took me longer than I would like to really get into the lives of the lead characters; but I did and glad I persevered. I did not fall in love with this story, nor shed any tears but it did make me do some thinking. We probably do not know others as well as we think we do, even those we are closest to. It seems to me this would be a good book club selection, but I have been a member of a book club discussion group only one time. Happy Reading ! !

Well written and entertaining. A snapshot of ego and talent causing fates to fall and rise.
Fun read.

I would like to thank Net Galley and Doubleday for the opportunity to read this as an ARC. The book is set in Edinburgh at the Fringe Festival. Alex Lyons is a newspaper critic and has just finished writing his review of a one woman show. He hated it and gave it a one star. After he sends in the review, he goes to a bar, where the woman who wrote and performed the show( Hayley ) , is having a drink. He does not tell her he reviewed the show. They go back to his place and have sex. In the morning she sees the reviews. On the basis of this, you would expect the book to be about Alex, or about Hayley. Actually, it is narrated by Sophie, who is also a critic for the same newspaper and is sharing a house with Alex. And, gradually, the book becomes about her. The book is ok. It is not a "fantastically funny read". It is actually quite cringey and upsetting at times. It is thoughtful and thought provoking, but not all that funny.

Sophie, a junior arts and culture reviewer at an important newspaper, heads off to Edinburgh for the three weeks of the Fringe Festival, where she’ll see and review shows every day. She’s accompanied by her colleague, Alex Lyons, a handsome man and son of famed actress Dame Judith Lyons. They share the paper’s usual flat in town, and Alex reviews the higher-profile plays. Alex is a big name with years of experience and tells Sophie that namby-pamby three-star reviews are worthless; only one-star and five-star ratings should be awarded and the reviews should be brutally honest. But Sophie can’t stop thinking about the work the performers have put in and how her review might affect them and their friends and family.

In the 21st century, we’ve all become reviewers and critics. Every time we buy, eat, listen to or watch something, even when we go to the doctor, we’re asked to rate the experience and maybe even review it. But when we rate or write a review, do we do it to help other potential consumers? Are we brutally honest or do we pull our punches so as not to hurt the target of the review? Do we write to entertain ourselves, vent our feelings, entertain readers by being dramatic? These issues run throughout the book and are interesting to those of us who enjoying reviewing books—though of course understanding that reader reviews don’t have the same impact as reviewers in national media.

When Alex one-stars an earnest one-woman show about climate change and then, within a couple of hours after submitting it for next-day publication, meets the performer, Hayley Sinclair, in a bar and takes her back to the flat for a one-night stand, the results are explosive. Hayley reads the review and turns her show into an exposé of Alex that includes inviting anyone who has been mistreated by Alex to come up and tell her story. Hayley’s show becomes a sensation and Alex a pariah. Sophie is in the position of hearing all these stories while, at the same time, living in the flat with Alex and hearing his side.

This is an inspired idea for a novel—literally inspired, I understand, by the author’s experience of having panned the Fringe performance of a comedian some years ago. (I was very curious about that, because apparently it’s a comedian who became quite successful, but I wasn’t able to find out more about what happened.) The story is told from Sophie’s point of view, which is a good way to allow for both Hayley’s and Alex’s actions and perspectives to be set out. But then the author shifts her focus to Sophie’s life and struggles with being a critic, a mother of a young child, a woman struggling with her unresolved grief over her mother’s death and the problems that causes with her personal relationships, especially with her partner. Sophie’s story just didn’t interest me as much as the Hayley/Alex story, and I don’t think the author was successful integrating the two stories. So here I go, giving the book a namby-pamby three-star rating because I liked half of it quite a bit and the other half not so much.

Rounded up from 2.5. This book had a lot of potential. The premise was interesting, and it started really well. Then it stalled out. The narrator was lost in her own depression and it really took over the story for too long.

Thank you to Net Galley and Doubleday for the ARC. I enjoyed reading this book. While the pacing is a bit odd and the writing style took a bit to get used to, I really enjoyed the plot because strong gossip and drama vibes.

I'm afraid that this book was not for me. Perhaps it's my age?

I went into it with certain expectations, and those were not reached. This book was filled with over-inflated egos, sarcasm of the nasty kind, and Me Too whiners. I'm not of the generation that appreciates the me-too's - I think they just want their five minutes of fame, but that's probably just me.

I initially thought this was going to be a fun read, and was quickly put in my place. This was a depressing, cruelty-filled read. If I were Hayley, as soon as I read what Alex wrote, I would have gone after his dangly bits with a rusty toenail clipper. NOT because of the critical review, but because he slept with her without thinking about how she would feel when she woke up in his apartment and saw the papers. Used...yes, humiliated... again, yes.

Oddly enough, I just read online some criticism from an 'author' on one and two-star reviews, that we reviewers should be sensitive to the author's feelings. Uhm, if you are that sensitive that a critical or sarcasm-filled review would put you in a depression, then you are in the wrong profession. I b lame the advent of the old-time Vanity Press companies and the ever-popular self-publishing world.

*ARC supplied by the publisher, Doubleday, the author, and NetGalley.

Bring the House Down a brilliant read from first to last page.Great characters that really come alive a gem of a novel.#netgalley #doubleday

frequently giggled through the course of this book. i appreciate taking the heavy and often flattened subject of #metoo and bringing nuance, complexity, and humor. a quick and enjoyable read.

I realize my initial review of this book got lost, or at least didn’t get published. Here goes,
The first few pages of Bring Down the House were a struggle for me. Alex Lyons is a theater critic and one evening he give Hayley Sinclair’s show at the Fringe Festival a one-star review. A few hours later unbeknownst to Hayley, she meets Alex in a bar and winds up sleeping with him, only to discover the next morning Alex is the person who wrote the terrible review. From there the book takes off in a direction I didn’t anticipate.

Sophie is a coworker of Alex at the same newspaper also attending the festival and sharing a flat with Alex. The aftermath of the one-star review is told from Sophie’s perspective. Sophie finds it hard to be objective due to what appears to be feeling for Alex. Over the course of the two-week festival there is fall out all around as Hayley takes her bad review and turns the tables on Alex.
Though Sophie’s perspective the reader learns more about Alex and what it’s like to be a child of a famous person while trying to have a career of your own. What happens to Hayley when suddenly you become overnight famous for something different than what you wanted. Finally there is Sophie, she seems unhappy in her life and has feelings for Alex.
After completing a book, I will google the author, and I highly recommend reading up on her idea for this book. Thanks, NetGalley for this advance reader copy. #netgalley

This book has a lot of interesting things to say about reviews and reviewers, and the rapid rise and fall of Internet discourse for every scandal that comes by. In some ways, it also touches on influencers and flash news that don't always show what's accurate or real. I enjoyed the basic story and will remember some of the key points for a while.

Two things keep it from being 4 stars -
1. The author's writing style isn't my favorite. There wasn't enough dialogue. Sophie, Alex's colleague and temporary flatmate, told us the story mostly in summary. So many long paragraphs that glossed over what were probably emotional conversations. It kept me from really connecting with Alex at all. Also, there were several sentences that were too long and should have been broken into two. It was too many asides and commas, which I recognize as hypercritical of me because I love commas and asides. But it made for clunky reading occasionally.

2. This one is a small spoiler. Sophie's husband, several years before the story starts, had a short affair. Towards the end of the book, Sophie and Alex share a kiss. When the husband asks Sophie whether anything happened between her and Alex, she says yes. But she never specifies it was one kiss. She acts like her one kiss is on par with her husband sleeping with another woman twice. Then they sort of say "let's call it even" and (presumably) never revisit it. That soured the ending for me.

I received this book in a giveaway on Story Graph. Review appears on Net Galley and Story Graph.

Things go askew in this fiction book pitting a critic and an actress. While the theatrical critic is pompous and predictable, he is a likable character. I rooted for the actress in her clever quirky reactions. Predictable is usually a killer word in a review, but this is a fun ride throughout the novel.

After reading this funny, deep, yet lighthearted retaliation story, which happens to include a few different perspectives about writing reviews that others will read, it feels odd to write a review over it. This story incorporates the art of theater & those critic journalists who review it for others. Of course there are many facets to the characters, choices they make, & challenges they face. Very well written. Will it be the best thing you've ever read? Probably not. Is it entertaining & fun? Most Definitely!

This is my unbiased, honest review. Thank you to NetGalley & Doubleday books for an ARC.